Star-Cross
by Juniper Night
Summary: Ignore what the label says; this isn't a crossover - it's a fusion.
1. Gem Go

**Star-Cross**

 **Chapter 1 - _Go._**

"Ugh-hARGGGG!" She screamed as she slammed the device restraining her hands into the door. The sound of ringing metal reverberated through the small cell, driving her back a few steps before she charged forward with a roar and slammed the metal again. And again. And _again_. She gave a sort of hopeless cry as she collapsed to her knees. She'd been _so close_. She'd finally escaped Homeworld, only to be caught by a different kind of monster; out of the lab, and into the prison cell. Probably these strange organic beings, the " _Gordanians_ ", intended to enslave her. Perhaps they intended to experiment on her themselves. Or maybe – and this thought sent a chill to the very core of her gem – maybe they wanted to use her as a bargaining chip with Homeworld. There was no way she was going back, not now, not when they would surely sha-

She needed to get out.

She forced herself to her feet and glared out the narrow window at the small gathering of guards that had amassed outside her door. They held up their spears and spoke in their strange, hissing language. She roared back, outraged at their audacity, and strengthened by her own righteous fury.

She would – SLAM! – get – SLAM! – out! – **CRASH!**

The door buckled and flew out of the frame. The closest guard seemed to shrink back, but not far enough back to dodge a blow that sent them barreling into the far wall. The next two guards met similar fates, but the last managed to block her with their spear once, twice, before they too were sent flying – right into an alarm trigger. She cursed.

She could hear the approach of dozens if not scores of Gordanian soldiers running toward her location as the emergency lights flashed distractedly on and off, but she forced herself to stop and focus. The stale, pressure-controlled atmosphere of the ship was cold against her projected form, but she could feel the heat and light energy trapped inside her core. She let the energy rise to the surface of her gem, twinkling like starlight as it built up pressure-

With a blast of heat and light, the outer walls of the space vehicle gave way before her.

Freedom.

)o(

She'd always been good at levitation, even for her gem type. Every ounce of that ability was put to use as she tried to resist the gravitational pull of the planet she'd chosen to land on, hoping to avoid a crash landing. Her resistance was futile. She was used to that. Still, she thought, as she picked herself up from the bottom of a smoking crater; she could have done worse. She could have made an even bigger crater. She could have cracked her gem, but – she checked – it was still very much whole.

Shaking some of the rubble rock off herself, she climbed to the rim of the crater. The smoke was thinner there, and after a moment she detected gem-like forms approaching. Ah. So this was an inhabited planet. That was unfortunate, as her limited experience with those had been unhappy thus far. This planet was not, however, a gem-controlled planet; that much became clear as the forms solidified into fleshy, organic creatures. There was no risk of being immediately warped back to the Diamond Authority, a definite plus in her logs. Perhaps these organic beings could be negotiated with.

"Release me from these shackles, and I will give you no harm!" She shouted in Tam'eranian. "Release me from these!"

None of the beings made any intelligent sounds in reply. Most of them shuffled backwards in fright, but one raised a small device which flashed at her, temporarily blinding her.

"ARRUGGH!"

That flash triggered too many bad memories. She needed to get these restraints off. She could not afford to be weak!

She raised her arms and smashed the nearest object, an oddly shaped pod that she could only assume was for terrestrial transport. She smashed a few more of these pods, and the paved path they rested on, all to no avail.

"Ughh…" She groaned in frustration. There had to be something strong enough on this primitive planet to break her free! There was a structure near her. A large portion of the second level of said structure was being supported by a single beam. Surely that would be strong enough?

With a cry she leapt towards the pillar and began whaling on it.

"You." _CLANK!_

"Must." _CLANK!_

"COME OFF!" _CLANK!_

She might have kept at it until either the pillar or her restraints broke, but out of nowhere something struck the metal visor she wore around her head and sent her stumbling sideways.

Pushing herself back to her feet, she looked up to see another of the gem-like-but-not organic beings. They were different from the ones she'd seen so far. For one thing, they weren't afraid of her. For another, they were uncomfortably colorful. The only other thing she'd ever seen with that many colors smashed together was an experimental gem cluster.

The Colorful One shouted something at her. There were definitely words in there, meaning these beings weren't so backwards that they lacked language, but it was still unintelligible babble to her.

Their stance, however, she could understand, and it was not friendly. Manacles or no, there was no way she was coming off as weak. She made the first move and charged, but she hit only the pavement where the Colorful One had been standing moments before. It was fast, this being; she would give them that. Each strike she made was met only with the thick atmosphere of this strange planet. The Colorful One dodged one last lunge from her before they threw a small device at her that exploded upon contact with the ground. So they were throwing things at her now? At a being whose hands were obviously bound? What a cheap tactic. If that's how they wanted to fight, though, then that's how she'd fight back.

Slipping a toe under one of the terrestrial transport vehicles, she hefted it into the air with one foot before sending it towards the Colorful One with a hard kick.

It missed. She'd been close, though.

The Colorful One seemed surprised at her strength. They had yet to try and strike her physically, so perhaps that was an indicator that the beings on this planet were weak. That was good; it increased her odds of survival once she finished breaking off these restraints. The Colorful One had actually paused to watch the vehicle as it crashed into a building some _metroj_ away and exploded. She used their distraction to finally land a blow.

They went skidding along the pavement, but they were not so weak that they couldn't manage to dodge her next strike, and then they sent _her_ flying into a vehicle with the aid of a metal staff.

The staff broke though. Ha.

"Talc," she taunted as she picked herself up. She lunged into the air once more, up and ready to strike –

And then something rammed into her from the side, and she found herself sprawled on the ground. What? She levitated herself to her feet and observed that a new being had joined the Colorful One. She could have sworn that she'd seen something green and with horns, but this one was also gem-like in their physique. They looked more normal than the Colorful One, in her opinion; they were purple and black, just two colors. They weren't very intelligent, though, keeping their back to her like that, even if they did appear to be reporting to their superior. She winced suddenly in sympathy. If they had gotten to attacking her only after their superior, then things would not go well for them.

Maybe she should end this quickly for their sake. With a bit of effort, she managed to position her arms beneath a larger terrestrial vehicle, one that was the size of at least ten of the one she'd thrown earlier. She launched it towards the two, only for a third being to appear! What was with this planet and tardy reinforcements? This being was strong, too. Strong enough to catch the large vehicle.

The Colorful One, the Shape Changer, and the Strong One had all grouped together, and appeared to be exchanging words. Were they creating a strategy they could use against her? Either way, three against one were not favorable odds.

She banged her arms once more against the pavement, and the dented outer hull of the restraints finally – finally! – crumpled and fell off.

She felt much lighter now. More importantly, her hands were now free even if her arms were still bound together. With a low growl she lifted her arms until they were perpendicular to her body. The familiar energy rose to the surface, causing the star on the gem at her throat to glow brighter than usual. An intense heat ran in a current from her core to her fists, where the energy became visible; she began to fire. The three organic beings were barely able to dodge as she released a volley of solar bolts, each bolt containing the energy of a small solar flare. She'd heard of other gems doing something similar, of channeling blasts of raw energy through their weapons in combat, but nothing like this. Nothing this potent, and certainly nothing of this magnitude.

Even she could not keep it up forever, though. The three organic beings had vanished – taking shelter behind a pile of rubble, perhaps, or maybe seeking reinforcements – so she allowed herself to stop firing and sink to her knees.

Dully, she noted that three figures were running towards her, but they were still so far away that she couldn't convince herself to rise just yet. She bowed her head to examine her gem, making sure it wasn't damaged. Because of that, she never saw the shield that sprang up between her and the three figures, a shield that was larger than any she'd ever seen or heard of a gem producing. She didn't see the new figure that had suggested she might not be an enemy, or the brief negotiations that followed, but she did see the Colorful One approach her. She instantly rose to her feet, summoning the energy back to her hands. The Colorful One didn't raise any weapon, though. They didn't even crouch to attack. She held the glowing energy anyway.

"Retreat!" The Colorful One put a hand to their belt. "Retreat and leave me alone!" She shouted again, but when the Colorful One held up their hands, all they held was what appeared to be a tool, not a weapon.

She had absolutely no idea what it said in response – which was getting kind of annoying – but she decided to take a chance and power down. If the tiny object turned out to be a weapon of some kind, she would flip the creature into the nearest building.

The risk payed off. In a moment she was finally free, and the Colorful One started to say something again, but of course she couldn't understand a word the clod was saying to her, so she grabbed them and forced their mouth against her own.

Aside from the Gordanians, she'd never met someone who didn't speak the same language as her before. Maybe it was in all sapphires' programming, maybe it was the result of some experiment, but somehow she knew that establishing lip to lip contact would transmit their language into her.

She shoved the Colorful One away from her the moment she felt the transfer was complete.

Now when she spoke, it was in the 'English,' a language native to this planet:

"If you wish not to be destroyed, you will leave me alone!"

She didn't wait for a reply. Instead she pushed off the ground hard and levitated away.

From the air she could see the city stretching out beneath her for _mejloj_ – or miles, her new language supplied helpfully - beneath her. On one end, the city faded away into hills and then mountains covered in strange green organisms the people of this planet called 'plants.' The other end of the city ended abruptly at a large body of water called a 'bay,' or perhaps an ocean or a sea; her new language had many words for water bodies, and she was unsure which to use. Just above the mountains and heading in her general direction was…. a large metal spaceship. A very large, very pointy, and very familiar spaceship.

X'hal! She dove back down into the metal cliffs and canyons of the city, choosing paths at random. When she'd seen this planet from above, it had seemed huge! How had they tracked her down so quickly? She waited in a dark crevice – an alley – between two buildings as the dark underside of the ship passed over her, then she quickly flew in the other direction. She didn't see the giant holographic message, but she certainly heard it:

" _People of Earth" –_ Ah, so that was this planet's name–" _we come to your planet hunting an escaped prisoner, a very dangerous prisoner. Do not interfere, and we will leave your city with only minimal damage. But if you attempt to assist her, your destruction will be_ _ **absolute**_ _."_

The gem laughed. This Lord Troggar, leader of the Gordanians, was a fool if they thought that anyone would try to assist her, not when she had literally nothing to her name but herself. She flew into the nearest empty building and prepared to wait.

)o(

The building that she had entered was a strange one. It was dimly lit, and full of obstacles. Two of the walls were made of glass, so she quickly made her way through the rows of shelves and deeper into what her new language was calling a "store." At the very back was a table of sorts, with small machines on top and a glass casing on the bottom. She paused to examine one of the many colorful rectangular prisms that lined the shelves. It was covered in a graphic depiction of a four legged organic creature with a mechanical propeller in its back. To her surprise, when she picked it up, another rectangular prism slid out, this one plain and black. She examined the device curiously, trying to peer within the two white circles embedded in it.

"Uh, those are more fun to watch when you use a VCR."

It was the Shape Changer. She rounded on them, dropping the device and summoning the energy to her hands with a growl.

"It's alright. We're friends, remember?" the Colorful One stated.

"Friends?" She repeated. The word was foreign to her, and not just because of the language. "Why? For what purpose did you free me?" She demanded of them.

"Just… trying to be nice," the Colorful One said.

"Nice." She repeated again. "We do not have this word on my planet. Closest is _rutha_ , weak!"

The Strong One seemed to be offended by that, but perhaps they expressed their fear as anger, the way she had known several gems to do in the labs. "Well, around here nice means nice, and if you want us to _keep_ being nice you'll tell us why the lizard king took you prisoner." It took her a moment to decode that sentence – what were lizards? – but when she did, she drew her power back in to her core.

"Not prisoner. I am... prize. The Gordanians take me back to their Citadel, to live out my days as their servant." If she was lucky. She didn't want to think about the alternatives.

"And the Gordanians are?"

"Not… _nice_."

"Then you're not going with them. Not if I have anything to say about it."

"Um, don't you mean we?" The Shape Changer said right before the wall exploded.

All five of them were knocked backwards, but all five just as quickly got back on their feet. They shared a glance before rushing to meet the enemy. There were dozens of Gordanians, much more than the four she'd fought aboard the ship, but somehow fighting them was much easier now that she had allies.

With a flying kick, she sent one Gordanian crashing into another. She fired star bolts at one, brought her fists down on another, and looked for more to fight, only to see that her abductors were making a quick, airborne retreat. She contemplated their fleeing forms. It was… _nice_ , having _friend_ s.

Aloud, she said, "I believe your expression is 'thanks.'"

"Aw, man – my suit!" She turned in curiosity at the cry, and was surprised to see that the Strong One was no longer the dull gray of stone. Instead, she saw the smooth, shiny planes of metal. Ragged strips of grey covering hung disconcertingly over shiny silver armor and glowing blue panels. The Strong One was not a gem, but they didn't look entirely organic either. That was confusing to her, but the Shape Changer merely seemed excited.

"So? You look way cooler without it."

"Yeah, like I'm taking fashion advice from the guy in the goofy mask," the Strong One said.

"Goofy? My mask is cool… isn't it? Raven?"

She watched the exchange, trying to keep up with all the strange words and gestures of a culture that was very different from any she'd seen in the labs of Homeworld. She was also trying to figure out when the fourth being, a quiet figure draped in blue who reminded her disconcertingly of Blue Diamond, had joined the other people of Earth.

"But what about my secret identity?"

"What secret identity? You're green."

She had seen plenty of green gems on Homeworld, but apparently that was less common on Earth.

The Colorful One brought her back to the present situation. "This isn't over. Now that we've interfered –"

"–Troggar will strike harder. It is only a matter of–"

" _Fools! The earth scum were warned. Your insolence will be punished. Your city shall be_ _ **destroyed**_ _."_ She glared up at the ship she could just make out in the distance. She was no stranger to cruelty, but that didn't mean she had to approve of Lord Troggar's.

The Hooded One apparently thought differently. "Great." How could they say that? This was horrible!

"So after trashing a pizza place and a perfectly good video store, now we've managed to make a humongous space gecko mad enough to vaporize our entire town?" the Shape Changer asked redundantly.

"Go team." _Team?_ That comment pushed her past the edge. She couldn't stop the fury from exploding out of her.

"All the fault is yours! I commanded you leave me alone, but you insisted upon the being 'nice!'"

"My fault?! You blast me, you kiss me, but you never stop to mention they have a gigantic particle weapon?!"

"It is obvious that they have the weapons! They warned you not to assist me, I told you not to assist me, but you did it anyway like a _Clorbag_ _barbernelk_!

"QUIET!" yelled the Hooded One. The gem blinked. She had not expected them to be capable of such volume, but their next words were soft once more, "Hi." If the Hooded One had intended to say more, they seemed to have lost the nerve, but the Colorful One picked up for it.

"Look, it doesn't matter how we got into this mess. We're in it, and we will get out of it… _together."_

The other three organic beings made a small head motion in response to the Colorful One's words, and while she didn't recognize the gesture, she could read the determination on their faces.

"C'mon – we've got a city to save."

There was a pause.

"So… what's the plan?" The Hooded One asked.

"Before we can do anything we need to get on that ship," the Colorful One mused. From where they stood, they could see where the ship was hovering above the ocean, far from any structures. "I don't suppose anyone else can fly?"

"Ooh, me! I can!" said the Shape Changer. They shifted their form into that of a small, green creature with wings instead of arms to demonstrate.

"As can I," she stated, though by now that was obvious. "I am also capable of carrying someone."

The Hooded One was still gazing contemplatively at the ship. "I can fly," they said, "but if I knew where to go, I could teleport us there."

"Dude, sweet!"

The Hooded One looked at her expectantly, and after a moment of thought she said, "When they first brought me aboard the ship, we passed through a room for storing… non-sentient cargo. I saw no soldiers there, and it would be a discreet place to teleport."

"Where?"

"At the bottom of the ship, near the back."

The Colorful One filled out the rest of the plan. "The control room for the ship will have to be at the front of the ship. That's probably where we'll find Troggar and his weapon. When we get there, focus on _disabling the weapon_." The Colorful One looked at her as they said that, trying to emphasize that this mission was about saving the city more than it was about enacting revenge. She nodded.

"Everybody ready?"

)o(

Aside from a drop in temperature – something organic beings were apparently sensitive to – the Hooded One's teleportation of their group to a discrete location occurred without issue, and they quickly identified a likely passage and began walking. The halls were utilitarian and uninteresting, and the sound of their footsteps, subdued. It gave her time to think.

The gem couldn't help feeling a little bad. She was sort of-kind of beginning to understand this concept of "nice," and the fact that these four organic beings had helped her despite several warnings, which before had struck her as foolish, now seemed very, very nice. Certainly it was not the sort of action that deserved to be met with harsh words.

"I bring you... a-polo-gy," she said to The Colorful One, making sure to pronounce the strange word correctly.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry I yelled too."

"And again you are… nice. On my world I never knew such kindness."

"Well, things are different here."

The Colorful One smiled at her, and she thought she might be smiling back, when the Shape Changer interrupted.

"Uh, guys? I think they know we're here."

The gem started at the sight of the Gordanian guards who had managed to sneak up on them, but smirked when she realized there were only three. The Colorful One ducked and weaved beneath the attacks of the nearest Gordanian and swept them off their feet with a low kick. She unleashed a barrage of star bolts on the second as the Shape Changer and the Strong One charged the third. She had disarmed her opponent and had them on the verge of collapse when a dark energy wrapped around their torso and lifted all three "space geckos" off the ground.

The Colorful One shot a smile towards the Hooded One. "Nice one," they said.

)o(

It was not too hard to find the control center. Lord Troggar had a loud voice.

"The Earth scum shall learn. It takes more than five juvenile heroes to defy the mighty Lord Troggar!" Lord Troggar also had a nasty habit of speaking in the third person.

They could have attempted to hack the door, but blasting it was faster and _much_ more satisfying.

 _ **CRASH!**_

"We're not five heroes. We're one team."

The Gordanians charged forward, but it was clear that their rag tag group had not been expected, and the five of them managed to land a few good strikes before they started taking hits of their own. This battle wasn't going as well as the previous ones – clearly Lord Troggar kept their fiercest warriors close at hand.

One of the Gordanian soldiers focused on her, and for the next indeterminate amount of time it was all she could do to punch and block and dodge and swing until finally she pulled back enough to find her center. With a blast of energy delivered at close range, her enemy fell. She looked up from their slumped form only to see the Colorful One hit the wall.

"Hey!" She shouted.

The Gordanian standing over her friend looked up in time to take a star bolt to the face.

Later, she would reflect that she had never used her star bolts for someone else's sake before. Earlier, she had been using them to help herself escape. On Homeworld, she had used them because the scientists wanted her too, and because defiance would not end well for her; replacing her would take time of course, but she was replaceable. But this – using star bolts to protect her friends – felt different. There was a sort of righteous fury that empowered her, fueled her to release more bolts, and gave her more strength than she would have otherwise had.

She let the energy surge up and sent out an army of her own, not targeting any specific soldier but seeking rather to pester and weaken them as a whole. She didn't anticipate that they or possibly their uniform might be somewhat flammable, and smoke soon filled the cabin. She paused where she hovered, no longer able to distinguish her friends from her enemies. The haze shrouded a soldier from her sight until they were nearly upon her, and by then it was too late to do more than lift her foot before she was pinned to the ground. She drew back aforementioned foot and kicked the being off of her. They reeled back, but didn't fall. Another figure appeared as she twisted onto her elbows, and she launched herself in the opposite direction with an awkward motion that was half-crawl, half-levitation. But when she turned around, it was the Strong One she saw, sinking their fist into the joint between the space-gecko's head and neck. She spun on her heels and the next strike the Strong One delivered was concurrent with her own.

She dared to hope that together they would be victorious. Then their combatant rammed them back. They were both sent skidding to the other side of the control room, where they arrived in a graceless pile next to the Colorful One. The gem winced and rubbed her head.

"Can you rewire that into some sort of weapon?" asked the Colorful One. Once her perception stopped spinning, she was able to see that the two earthlings were regarding the Strong One's arm, where some of the metal components had shifted.

"I can try."

 _In the middle of battle?_ She thought incredulously. She doubted a peridot could do it. She left them to their tinkering and pulled herself up. They were surrounded and losing. Lord Troggar may have been arrogant, but they were also strong, and their army was numerous.

She summoned her energy to her fists, wondering if shattering in a fight was preferable to shattering in captivity.

"Get _away_ from my friends!"

The gem barely had time to be surprised at the Hooded One's second outburst before-

" _Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!"_

It was hard to process what happened in that split second. Something loud seemed to have burst forth from the quietest of her allies, something dark and cool that contained and exploded simultaneously, leaving fire in its wake. When it disappeared, their enemies were left like so much rubble rock on the floor.

The largest lump on the floor twitched. It slumped and straightened until Lord Troggar stood at full height, towering over the Hooded One and the Shape Changer, who by now seemed to be leaning on each other to stay upright. There was one final blast, made as much from sound energy as light, and her captor returned to the floor. The gem turned to the source of the blast. To her shock, the Strong One's arm seemed to have been converted into a miniature laser light cannon.

They grinned. "Alright, I'm only gonna say this once: Booyah."

)o(

The salty breeze of this planet's – gulf? cove? – felt good after the stale smoke of the space ship. She was all too happy to follow the Hooded One's lead and levitate off the downed craft and onto a nearby outcrop of rocks, taking the Colorful One with her.

"You know… we just kicked butt, and I don't even know your guyses names," said the Shape Changer, landing easily on a boulder after shifting back to a gem-like form. "I'm Beast Boy."

"Cyborg."

"Raven."

"Robin."

The gem blinked. Like 'nice' and 'apology,' 'name' did not appear to have a direct translation into Tam'eranian. She gathered that it was a word used to describe or denote something, and did her best to answer from there.

"I am an orange corundum with an artificially enhanced asterism."

Silence.

"Sooo, a Star Sapphire?" Cyborg supplied.

"Yes, that would be correct."

"More like Star-Fire," Beast Boy joked.

Star Sapphire giggled. "That would also be an accurate description."

"Welcome to Earth, Star-Sapphire."

"I thank you all for your bravery and help, and… I wish to ask permission to remain here, where the people are most strange, but also most- _kind_."

"You don't need our permission," The Hooded One – Raven – said.

Robin interjected, "But if you want our friendship, you've got it."

"'Think we could all use some new friends," Cyborg observed, and Beast Boy nodded their agreement.

"Besides we kinda made a good team!"

)o(

Her friends left the island – they flew back to the mainland to do whatever it is that organic beings do – but Star Sapphire elected to stay. It was peaceful on the island, surrounded by sunlight and waves. The only other creatures on the rock were small, spongy and non-sentient, and soft to the touch.

A heavy weariness had settled over her – it had been a long time since she had spent this long outside of her gem. She stretched out on a boulder facing the sun and basked in the heat for a moment before she released her form and retreated into her gem stone.

She'd worn armor most of her short existence, not that it had done much against the destabalizers of Homeworld. But Earth was very different from Homeworld, and her new friends were very different from the gems she knew; perhaps she could be different too. She snuggled in cozily and thought for the first time about changing her form into something a little more "nice."

 **Omake:**

Beast Boy: "Sooo, does that make you a Rock-Star?"

Star Sapphire: *Looks confused* "Yes. Is that not what I said?"

Beast Boy: "… Nevermind."

 **A/N: Tada! I've decided to take a slightly different approach to the crossover genre in this fic, so be sure to leave a review and give me some feedback :)**

 **P.S. The Crystal Gems/Beach City will be featured in this story, it'll just take a bit for the Titans to meet them.**


	2. The Answer

Earth was beautiful. The shifting sky, the trees with their subtle geometry, the light reflecting off the buildings, the tiny plant-organisms pushing up at the edges of the pavement – all of it was mesmerizing to Star-Sapphire. It was true that the architecture lacked the elegance of Homeworld, but there was nonetheless something endearing about it. And the people! They were called "humans," and much like gems, they were sentient beings who worked in groups to form civilizations - but that was where the similarities seemed to end. Star Sapphire observed them quietly from a "bench," a long chair which anybody seemed to be allowed to use, regardless of caste. Actually, the only reason she was sure there were castes at all was because she had seen a rare half-sized human chastised for disobeying their master, a taller human who was pushing a small cart with an organic being inside that was too small to be the same species.

The 'Sun' – a curious name which the people of this planet had given to the sole star at the center of their solar system – had already moved across the sky from one side of the bench to the other, and Star Sapphire wondered idly if Earth's rotations were shorter than Tam'eranian ones. She sat and watched and wondered for a long time; she had nothing better to do, after all. Not like the other people on the street, who were almost all busy. They bustled from one place to another by foot and by machine. Some of them worked even as they walked, speaking into small portable communication devices, or maintaining their forms with "food" and "drink." Star Sapphire felt left out just watching them. They each seemed to have a different function, yet they looked so alike. It was baffling to the gem. Organic beings were not programmed, so how did humans figure out their purpose if not from appearance?

Something happened to disrupt her inner musings, then. All day, there had been relatively gradual shifts in activity from the humans in the street, but now the change seemed near-instantaneous. Star Sapphire jumped to her feet as she saw people screaming and running the way they had when she crashed to Earth. Something rounded the corner – something large and purple, with a tall narrow body and many scuttling legs. Where their head should be, there was instead a long joint-less limb with a pair of pincers at the top… pincers that were currently flailing into buildings and throwing the debris at innocent people. Star-Sapphire could see no restraints, nor anything attacking them – they had no reason to be doing what they were doing. Her new language supplied the word for the thing: Monster. She sprang from the bench, and flew towards it.

"I insist that you stop what you are doing!" She shouted.

The monster made a sound like 'blurble-gluggle' and swung its appendage at her. Star dodged and flew out of its range, and the monster continued on its destructive rampage. Star-Sapphire's muscles tensed in anger as she realized that it was ignoring her – it didn't consider her a threat. She grabbed the nearest big piece of rubble, and shot it back at the monster. _That_ got its attention.

"I said, stop!"

The creature charged at her - only to trip over a line that had not been there a moment before. Star-Sapphire looked around in confusion – how…?

"Good to see you again," said Robin politely as they ran up the side of the fallen creature, dodging the appendage as they went and still trailing reinforced paracord. They jumped off the other side and proceeded to wind the line around a streetlight and through the monster's legs. Recovering herself, Star-Sapphire began to circle and fire star bolts at it, trying to keep it from hitting Robin or cutting its bindings. On one flail, however, it came dangerously close to hitting her new friend, and they only barely managed to somersault out of the way. Robin bounced to their feet as they left the roll and launched a small device at it when it looked like the limb was going to get too close again. The device detonated on impact.

Star-Sapphire flinched and instinctively raised her arms to protect her gem. By the time she looked up again, the creature had vanished.

)o(

"Where did it go?"

Robin was baffled. "I don't know. It should be right here… Unless it teleported? It looked like it just… poofed."

Robin picked his way through the rubble rock and bits of twisted metal, searching for possible escape routes or some other hint as to what had happened. Star-Sapphire drifted above him, examining the ground from a higher vantage point. Evidently her search was more successful; he heard her give a horrified gasp.

"It's a gem!"

Well, that was unexpected. "Wait, what?"

"It's a gem, Robin! A gem - like _me._ " She gestured at the orange sapphire set at the base of her throat, and then pointed at the inky purple stone at her feet.

" _Oh_." Robin stared at the mauve gem, not quite able to equate the still stone with the being that had been attacking them just moments prior. It suddenly occurred to him that when the alien girl in front of him had referred to herself as a sapphire, she had meant it literally. Somehow, her existence might actually be tied to a rock. He tried to be sensitive. "What happened to… the rest of it?"

"It has dissipated its projected form and retreated into its core." Robin took a moment to process that - solid projections and an alien race of animated rocks… Why had Bruce bothered to hire physics tutors for him when so much of what they said was disproved by their allies and enemies alike?

"Can it… come back?" Robin asked. The look Star-Sapphire was giving the downed squid-crab-rock-monster-alien- _thing_ was putting him on edge. It seemed to take her a moment to register that she'd been asked a question.

"What? Oh – yes, it will regenerate unless it is prevented from doing so by containment." So it could come back – that was worrisome, but the fact that he hadn't accidentally killed something made him feel a lot better.

"A container, huh? I can do that…"

They ended up trapping it in a styrofoam cup they lifted off an overturned food truck. Then, for lack of a better place to take it, the two of them began the several block journey to the nearest police station (Robin had memorized their locations and several city maps on the bus ride to Jump.)

"So, are there lots of different, uh, species on your planet?" Robin asked.

Star-Sapphire considered the question. "Yes," she said carefully, "but not the same way Earth has species.

"There are many varieties of gem – sapphires, rubies, quartzes, beryls – in many sizes and colors, but we all have the same basic shape. I have never seen anything like that" - she gestured to the cup in Robin's hands – "before."

"Nothing?"

"Well, sometimes when things go terribly wrong, a gem's form could be affected, but…" Star-Sapphire shuddered and didn't continue.

"… Do you have any idea what could have happened here?"

Star-Sapphire had folded her arms close to her gem, and her gaze was now directed somewhere near her feet. "I- May we speak of something else?"

"Sure-" Robin barely got the word out before Star Sapphire asked her own question -

"What is your purpose?"

"My – what?"

"Your purpose. What is it that you do?"

"I fight crime. I protect innocent people."

"What do I call you? The kind of human for fighting crime?"

"Most people call us heroes. Super heroes." Star-Sapphire paused to consider the term, and Robin took the opportunity to ask something he'd meant to ask before an alien mutant had started rampaging through midtown. "Actually, if you wanted to, you could be a super hero too. I'm starting a team."

"I am… unsure."

"That's alright, you don't have to decide right now," Robin said. "I thought we might want to keep in touch, so Cyborg and I designed these." He stepped forward and held out a bright yellow communicator, which Star-Sapphire took and regarded curiously.

By then they had reached the police station, a square and rather squat structure. Star-Sapphire looked up from the communicator and frowned.

"Please – this place houses containment cells?"

"Yeah."

Star-Sapphire gave the building one last uneasy glance before turning away. "I shall leave you here then. Thank you for your assistance in defeating the monster."

Robin smiled. "No problem. When there's trouble, you know who to call."

)o(

She found another bench, this one in a "park." The sounds of humanity were muted there, masked by the wind blowing through the various plant organisms. It was secluded. Peaceful.

She'd wanted to escape the fighting. And yet, there was no denying that Robin's offer was tempting. To have a purpose, to belong… She wouldn't be fighting for survival, this time. She remembered the feeling she'd had in her gem when she'd been fighting the Gordanians, fighting as much to protect four kind humans as to protect herself. It had been a nice feeling.

Without really noticing, Star Sapphire had pulled the communicator out of the pocket she had formed to hold it, and had begun to turn the small device in her hand. It fit comfortably in her palm, and she found its weight to be mildly reassuring. She thought of the four earthlings who had gone so far out of their way for her. She thought of their courageousness. She thought of friendship. She thought she had her answer.

)o(

 **A/N: My moral compass isn't sure whether I should be working on the next chapter, NaNoWriMo research, or my midterm paper :P Oh well, don't forget to review!**


	3. I'm gonna name you

Star Sapphire couldn't help the pride that bubbled up in her chest when she looked up at the Tower. It was only a shell right now, but they had already overcome so many obstacles in its creation.

Robin had insisted that their team needed to work _with_ rather than against City Council, the local Human Authority. After the Gordanian invasion, the Authority had readily agreed to establishing a special unit of law enforcement. They had been considerably _less_ willing to grant them a site on which to build a base, however, and had only consented when someone had suggested the small rocky island they'd celebrated their victory on. Star Sapphire gathered that no one else had been willing to develop the island before.

She could see why; Cyborg had arranged for some basic construction machinery and a crew of construction-humans to be barged to the island, but even with the equipment and the help it was a difficult terrain to work on. Nonetheless Star Sapphire enjoyed the novelty of building something that wasn't a spacecraft or a weapon, and she could see that the surrounding waters would be a tactical advantage once they finished. For now, the ocean and the late-morning sun merely provided a nice view. She flew inside to enjoy it with her friends.

)o(

Raven adjusted the corner of a sleeping bag. She shifted another one a bit to the right, so that the five were equally spaced in a circle, and then she adjusted it too. She reached to straighten another one before she caught herself and stopped.

There was no use hiding it from herself. She was nervous.

She would trust her new friends with her life – technically, she had entrusted it with them the very first time they met. So long as they didn't know the truth about her, she was much safer here than where she'd been before. The question was, how long could she keep her secret? And could she trust herself with their lives?

What was she doing here? The monks had always taught that violence wasn't the answer. She couldn't – shouldn't – do this, she should never have agreed to fight, even if she was fighting for good, she wasn't meant for good, and fighting, violence, that just made her that much more like-

"Hey, Rae!" Cyborg said as he walked into the room, unknowingly interrupting Fear's ramblings in her head. "What's good?"

She shrugged.

)o(

The first thing Robin bought after they finished the exterior walls of the tower was not mattresses or a camp stove; no, before any of that, he bought floor mats. Sleep could wait - training could not.

"Listen up!" He said, addressing his four new teammates. "Starting right now, it is our responsibility to protect innocent people and the city of Jump." He looked them each in the eye.

"It'll be hard. Sometimes we'll have to fight in less than ideal circumstances, which makes it that much more important that we're at the top of our game. You need to be prepared for anything. That means knowing how to use your individual skills to your advantage, yes, but it also means knowing how to fight without them. It means knowing your strengths and weaknesses, and knowing how to fight hand-to-hand or from a distance, how to work together, how to be aware of your surroundings…"

Robin paused. He'd been about to yell CONSTANT VIGILANCE, just to startle them and make a point, but that was Batman's style, not his.

"So… what do you guys already know?"

And thus training began. Beast Boy was the only other member on the team who'd ever been a super hero before, so he and Robin sparred. Even as he was punching and pivoting, Robin was evaluating his team mate. Beast Boy was creative in his animal choices, and able to shift and make decisions quickly, but was barely more capable of fighting in human form than the people they protected.

Cyborg had taken mixed martial arts for a year or so when he was younger, and he remembered the basic forms and techniques he's learned, but the rest of his ability at this point was due mostly to his strength and nerves of steel, or perhaps titanium.

Star Sapphire wasn't made for fighting, but she was pretty damned used to it by now. So when Robin said to give it her best shot, she summoned her energy and fired. He flipped out of the way and the blasts missed him by a long shot, but he could still feel the heat.

"Whoa! Time out!" He said, making a T with his hands. "Holy-" he cut himself off before he could finish the batty old joke. "Those are hot!"

"My powers are derived from solar energy," said Star Sapphire.

"Yeah, I can see that," Robin said, looking at the scorch marks that were now on the other side of the gym. He swallowed. "Um… in the future, try to avoid throwing solar energy at anyone flammable."

Star Sapphire quirked her head. "But, how will I know…?"

"We'll tell you."

Finally, it was Raven's turn. Her mannerisms reminded Robin a bit of Batgirl. The difference was that Cassandra was the same height as him – more than a head taller than Raven – and had been trained by one of the greatest assassins in the world. Thinking back, Raven had mostly used her powers defensively and from a distance.

"What's your combat experience?"

"The Gordanians," she said. "That is all."

Robin nodded. Then he charged. Finally, he grinned, as he found himself hovering above the ground in the grip of cold, dark energy.

"Nice-" he complimented, before he pushed against the energy, felt it give enough for him to twist and drop out of its hold, snaked forward, and flipped her over in almost the exact same maneuver he'd used on Beast Boy.

"-but you still have a lot to learn in martial arts. From the top then." He said to everyone, taking a moment to give her a hand off the floor before he launched into a lecture on which parts of the hands and feet to strike with if you didn't want to break your own bones.

)o(

No sooner had Cyborg finished installing the alert system than it began blaring.

Robin's eyes narrowed. "Trouble."

There was indeed trouble, and it was in Jump City's Artist Colony - the only district of Jump City where art-related crimes were more common than any other illegal activity. Most of these were minor and involved radical and sometimes illegible graphics in places they weren't wanted, but occasionally there were more violent crimes.

In the borderland between the Artist Colony and downtown stood the Jump City Metropolitan Museum of Art. The crown jewels of its current exhibits were made of glass, not precious minerals, but that didn't stop the blue man in the red-lined cape from levitating them into his top hat. One by one, intricate lamps and stained-glass windows contorted to fit though the brim. The hat suddenly shivered in his hands, and he looked up to find that he'd gained an audience.

"Now, who the heck are you?"

 _Good question_ , thought Raven, but Robin didn't hesitate.

"We're the ones who're gonna take you down!"

"That's a bit of a mouthful," said the blue man. "Me, I'm simply the Amazing _Mumbo Jumbo!"_ At these last words, his wand glowed and a group or flock or – Beast Boy would know the word – of white rabbits leapt at them.

Raven immediately flew higher – could normal rabbits jump that high? And did they normally have teeth?

Robin's voice cut through Mumbo's cackles. "Star, no fire!" Already he was deflecting the barrage with his bo staff and weaving through display cases as he ran toward Mumbo.

Realizing that, so far, she'd done nothing but observe, Raven raised a shield that, while small, prevented the furry ammunition from pelting her friends. Mumbo renewed the attack by animating several fancy floor lamps; they hopped forward, swinging their heavy shades violently. Star Sapphire and dinosaur-Beast Boy returned charge, while Raven managed damage control from above, simultaneously trying to shield her friends and preserve the museum's artifacts. Cyborg, however, had been focused on aiming his sonic cannon at Mumbo, and a whack from the dragonfly-bedecked head of a stray lamp sent him sprawling.

Robin had also been targeting Mumbo, and he was nearly in striking distance of the theatrical thief when Mumbo announced that he was going out for a stroll and proceeded to step _into_ a stained-glass window.

He reappeared on the other side of the gallery a moment later, stepping out of the window panel nearest to Cyborg.

"I'm ba-ack!" He sang, only to crouch next to Cyborg with a look of exaggerated concern on his face. "Why, hold on sir, there's something in your ear… aha!" He pulled out several coins, then threw them at Beast Boy and Star Sapphire.

"Keep the change!" He shouted, cackling gleefully when the coins exploded.

Robin was en route back to their side of the gallery, deflecting and dodging vicious rabbits with every step. "Raven, stop him!" He shouted.

Raven held up a hand to do so, but she hesitated-

just long enough for a multicolored scarf to bind her arms and yank her out of the air in one move.

Raven landed hard. She very awkwardly just managed to not hit her head. It took her a long moment to find her balance and sit up, and another to scatter the rabbits… which admittedly seemed more interested in sinking their vicious teeth into her cloak than her leg. When she stood, she was in time to see Cyborg blast the wand from Mumbo's hand. Mumbo dove after it - but it was Robin who caught it and snapped it neatly in two.

"Show's over, Mumbo."

To Raven's surprise, Mumbo's spells broke with his wand; the lamps became rigid and still once more, the rabbits disappeared with a puff of smoke, Mumbo's hat emptied its loot before disappearing, and the scarf around her arms loosened and vanished. Raven immediately tugged her hood back up to hide her shame.

Mumbo – now considerably less blue and well-dressed – made a break for the door, but this time Raven had no reservations about strapping his arms together and picking him off the ground with a shadow of soul-self.

Mumbo struggled for a second, then sighed. "I don't suppose you'd be interested in an encore?"

)o(

It took her a moment to recognize Raven without her hood up. Star-Sapphire had wondered if perhaps the hood was part of her form, but apparently the Hooded One had short, purple hair and-

 _-and a red crystal on her forehead._ She gasped. Raven looked up.

"I didn't realize you were a gem-"

" _Don't call me that!"_ Star Sapphire was startled by the flash of indeterminable emotion that crossed her friend's face, and then she was confused and a little offended. "I'm sorry. I guess that means something different on my world from yours. Excuse me."

Raven yanked her hood back over her forehead, and stalked out, never once looking up or back. Star-Sapphire was left alone in the Central Operations Room, but not for long. Soon Beast Boy and Cyborg's joking tones drifted up the stairwell, and within a few moments they had joined her.

"Hey Star, what's up?"

This Earth-expression had already been explained to Star-Sapphire. "Little is up, my friends," she lied.

"I thought everyone would be in the Ops room by now. Where's Raven?"

"She just left."

"And Robin?"

"I believe she is still working."

For some reason, Beast Boy and Cyborg began to snigger at this. Once more Star-Sapphire was confused, but Earth always made her feel so, and at least these two of her friends were present and in a good humor.

"Please – I have made the joke?"

"Star-Sapphire, Robin's a boy."

"I am aware of the existence of the human categories "boy" and "girl," but I am unsure of their significance."

"Uh…"

"Well…You see-"

There followed a long and very confusing explanation about the difference between "boy" and "girl," or maybe the lack of difference, and the conclusion that it didn't matter _too_ much, but that Star Sapphire should probably learn to tell anyway. They were still trying to teach Star how to do that when they were saved by the arrival of Robin, who came bearing pizzas and a side of thoughts.

"I've been thinking…" he said. "We can't just keep calling it 'The Team.' We need a name."

"Ooh-ooh, can we be the Super Patrol?!" Beast Boy asked.

Robin rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Well, everything is kinda marked "T" for Team right now, including the Tower, so the new name should probably also start with T…" Robin looked around at the three of his teammates present; there wasn't much they had in common. "Maybe the Teen-Team? Never mind, that sounds lame."

Star-Sapphire watched her teammates bemusedly. She was still not very confident in her understanding of names, though her teammates were able to procure many of them.

"How about the Tigers! Or the Triceratops? Maybe the Timber Wolves?"

Cyborg gave Beast Boy a playful shove before he could come up with any more bad-suggestions before he gave his own. "What about the 'Titans?'"

"Hey, that's good!"

Star Sapphire frowned. "I am not sure I understand this word," she admitted.

Cyborg froze – he'd first thought of 'Titan' because it'd been the mascot at the school he attended before The Accident – but luckily Robin could supply a definition more satisfying than 'some powerful dudes from Greek mythology.'

"It means someone who's really powerful and a leader in their field."

Beast Boy was nodding enthusiastically. "Yeah, that totally fits! We'll be the Teen Titans!"

)o(

Raven spent the early evening circling the skeletal T-Tower, etching runes every seven steps until she'd constructed a rudimentary ward over the entirety of the island. Despite the smallness of the island, it was still a time-consuming process and the sandy dampness of the work only made the passage of time seem slower. She didn't return, therefore, until long after the other's discussion was over. Nevertheless, the first thing they did upon her return was to collectively declare that they'd come up with a new name, and wasn't it awesome, and didn't she think Teen Titans was the coolest team name ever?

Titans? She -articulated thoughts and images of cruel, grotesque creatures and scuttling humans in togas dodging flaming pits, flashed across her mind. Could they have chosen a _worse name?_ The Titans of Greek mythology didn't exist, of course, but the beings who'd inspired the tales were all too real. Did they…?

She glanced at each of their faces, gauging their emotional states. There was no suspicion, no subterfuge.

She was being paranoid. However, they _would_ notice something was up if she didn't respond soon. She couldn't protest without giving an explanation, so she calmly slipped into her sleeping bag and neutrally stated that it was as good a name as any. Cyborg and Beast Boy seemed disappointed in her non-reaction, but the more she thought about it, the less she cared.

After all, it was just a name.

 **)o(**

 **A/N - Not gonna lie, I have a lot of insecurities about this chapter ^^' There's a lot of character exploration and establishing relations, and that's not really my strong point, so feedback of any kind would be reeeeally appreciated. I hope y'all enjoyed these two interim chapters, but the next update will return to the regular episodes.**

 **Ciao**


	4. Funland

**Disclaimer: This disclaimer has literally no legal standing... but anyway, I don't own Teen Titans, Steven Universe, or any of the cartoons getting cameos in this chapter ;)**

The Ferris wheel began its ascent shortly before the sky exploded.

Star Sapphire gawked at the multi-hued fiery blasts but forced herself to shift her focus from the sky to the earth. Up here on the slow-moving Ferris wheel, they would be an easy target. They needed to get to a more tactical position, somewhere they could defend but also fight from… Star Sapphire was prepared to leap out of the pod when a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Whoa, easy!" said Robin. "They're just fireworks."

"Fire – works?" she asked.

"They're mini-rockets people send into the sky to make colorful explosions."

"But why?"

Robin shrugged. "The lights are pretty."

"On Homeworld, such explosions would mean the Gordanians are attacking. You are certain Earth is not under attack?"

"Positive," Robin reassured with a grin before he turned back to the light display.

Star was opening her mouth to respond when a vision flashed before her eyes.

 _Robin and someone familiar riding a Ferris wheel. A strange machine abducting the stranger, trying to take her to space. A battle. Her friends saving the girl and destroying the machine._

She was brought back to reality by an excited whoop from Robin.

"Here comes the finale! Yeah!" He shouted. "Woo-hoo!"

"You okay?" asked a quieter voice. Star Sapphire turned to see that Raven was staring at her.

"I am fine," she said. "It is only that the fireworks… make me nervous." She flushed, embarrassed that she had admitted something that sounded so weak, but Raven merely nodded.

"Me too." Star Sapphire was relieved the sentiment was mutual, but Robin looked at Raven oddly.

"Have you ever been to a carnival?" asked Robin.

"We don't have them where I'm from," Raven said.

"Where are you from?"

"Azarath." Raven's already subtle expressions were impossible for Robin to make out in the double darkness of the night and her hood.

"Never heard of it. Is that in America?" He asked; he had a very extensive knowledge of geography – his mentor had made sure of that – and it wasn't often that he encountered a name that was completely unfamiliar.

"No."

There was an awkward pause. Then Robin continued, "I never would've guessed. You don't have an accent at all."

"My mom was from Earth."

"… And you are not?" Star Sapphire queried.

Raven shrugged. Star Sapphire, meanwhile, seemed to have acquired an extra asterism for each eye.

They continued on. Robin showed them carnival food, and various games, making a point to direct his explanations at both of the girls now. Star took a special delight in the cotton candy and the elephant ears, with their strange names and sugary flavors, and wanted to try everything, despite the fact that she didn't actually need to eat. Raven took one bite of a fried oreo, gagged, and then refused to try anything else. The irony was not lost on Robin.

Star enjoyed the introduction to a new facet of human culture, though she remained anxious the entire night. Around every corner and in the funhouse mirrors she saw visions. _People wearing red masks and breathing fire. Four humans and a talking dog being chased by a monster. That same, oddly familiar girl in purple being attacked by strange machines. A second girl, but with armor and black hair_. Star Sapphire did her best to stifle any reactions. She thought Raven noticed anyway, but since she didn't comment on it, Star spent the rest of the night hanging off Raven's arm and comparing Earth to Homeworld in an attempt to learn more about Raven's planet.

Despite the alarm bells going off in her head, they made it back to the tower without anything terrible happening. Star Sapphire attributed her nerves to the fireworks and the HIVE attack last week, and went to bed hugging a giant chicken from Beast Boy and Cyborg, reflecting that she must have the best friends in the whole universe.

 **A/N: I should probably mention that bits and pieces of dialogue from this chapter, as well as the first one, are quoted directly from the show.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this update! I know it's a lot shorter than some of the earlier ones, but that's kinda how this fanfic is going to be – some chapters will be short snippets, while others will be entire episodes and then some. I do have a plan for this story, and the crystal gems will start appearing more directly, but I'm waiting for the right moment to start revealing more answers ;)**


	5. Switched

**(Disclaimer: disclaimers have no legal bearing in this fanfic.)**

 **Switched**

She saw it in a movie: clothing. Adornment worn on top of one's form, rather than as an integrated part. In a few moments, one could change clothes, change colors, change identities even! It was an utterly fascinating concept to Star Sapphire. The cultural associations and statements conveyed by adornment were also very confusing, however, so it was not a subject Starfire wanted to learn on her own.

She went to the ops room in search of a friend, but it appeared to be empty. Then she noticed a lone figure, quietly hovering by the window with her legs crossed and her eyes closed. Star Sapphire hesitated; Raven was a fellow outsider to the customs of Earth, and Star Sapphire wished they could do the "bonding" over that… but Raven's reaction to the mere name of her kind still stung.

"Have you seen Robin?" She asked instead.

Raven said, "no," and nothing more.

"Oh… then perhaps you have seen Cyborg?"

"No."

"Beast Boy?"

"My eyes are closed, Star Sapphire, I haven't _seen_ anyone."

Star Sapphire hummed in thought. She thought she detected a note of hostility, but then decided she must be imagining it – Raven was always brief. Star Sapphire was just on-edge from that one time…

"They must be hanging out someplace. Perhaps we should do the hanging out together! We never have before, and conceivably it could be fun. We might journey to the mall of shopping, or perform braiding maneuvers upon each other's hair or-" She stopped abruptly when she realized that shadowy flames had engulfed Raven's entire form. Typically, when a ruby guard started setting things on fire, it was best to ready one's defenses or evacuate the premises.

"… You wish to be alone?"

" _How_ could you tell?" Raven grumbled.

Star Sapphire left, and the common room resumed its former peace… for perhaps two seconds.

"Azarath Metrion Zin-"

"MAIL CALL!" Cyborg hollered.

Raven shrieked and fell out of the air. Star Sapphire, meanwhile, seemed overjoyed at the boy's arrival and flew over to greet them.

"Robin, Beast Boy, Cyborg, you have returned! It was… quiet while you were gone," Star said.

Raven had successfully refrained from scowling, but she couldn't stop a sarcastic comment from slipping out: "Not _that_ quiet."

"Check it out!" said Beast Boy, dropping a large crate. "This was sitting by the front door. Fan mail! Probably a gift from one of my many admirers." He wiggled his eyebrows, presumably in imitation of a fan's blades, Star decided.

"Actually, it doesn't say who it's from," Robin said.

"Well, one way to find out!" Cyborg said, already prying off the lid.

Star Sapphire was apprehensive of what they would find, but upon opening the package, all three earthlings became immediately excited. Each of them exclaimed and crowded closer to the box. Star Sapphire hovered over them to see. She made out several tiny, colorful figures; it was a new type of Earthling! But – they weren't moving.

"Please, they are… deactivated?" she asked.

"Nah, these don't activate," Cyborg said. "They're puppets. Y'know, toys."

Cyborg held up the puppet, a tiny replica of himself, and then maneuvered it into a series of fighting stances. "Like this, see – Hey!" Robin's puppet had sent Cyborg's puppet swinging with a flying kick. Explanation forgotten, Cyborg goaded, "You want a piece of this little man?" and attacked Robin's puppet back. Beast Boy joined the scuffle a moment later.

Star Sapphire blinked and looked down at her star-puppet. "What thoughtful gifts. They must serve as excellent visualizations when strategizing for battle." She considered the three teammates who were currently engaged in marionette combat and the one teammate who was not.

"Shall my tiny replica do battle with your tiny replica?" she asked Raven, holding up her puppet.

Raven tossed the puppet to Star Sapphire on her way to the exit.

"Knock yourself out."

* * *

Raven was annoyed when Star Sapphire first showed up outside her door that night, claiming to have heard strange noises, but in the end, that three seconds heads-up was the only reason they survived the night.

It wasn't enough warning to overcome the shock of being attacked by their own friends, though.

She should have realized it was a trojan horse, Raven thought as stared in disgust – and then horror – at the living puppet lurching forth from the shadows and at the smaller puppets dangling from his hand.

"Starfire," said puppet-Robin.

"Raven," said puppet-Cyborg.

"Help," said puppet-Beast Boy.

"Release them!" Raven demanded, but from where she was, arms pinned by the body of Cyborg's iron grip, she was at a serious disadvantage. Of the five of them, only Star Sapphire still had free will and the ability to throw off her restraints, but she hung limply in Cyborg's other arm with her mouth agape. Raven thought now might be a good time for some alien super strength, but it did not appear to be forthcoming.

"Sorry, but you're not in charge here. You don't command me. The Puppet King commands you," declared the self-stylized Puppet King.

"And with the Puppet King pulling the strings, the Teen Titans will command the entire city."

In his hand, a marionette's handle lit up in a display of indigo and tangerine-colored lights that dazzled the eye and befuddled the mind, drawing them in with each flash. Raven felt herself growing lighter.

"Azarath… Metrion… _Zinthos."_

Something was wrong. The Puppet King's spell had failed. They were not puppets, and they were getting away, but something was still wrong. It wasn't until she and Star had hidden in a shadowy maintenance tunnel under the Tower that Raven was able to stop and process her situation.

She felt… dull. Disconnected. Had that spell severed some sort of important body-soul connection? Three sets of feet stomped past overhead, and Raven withdrew deeper into the shadows. She hated feeling like she was being hunted-

 _A rabbit and a fox trapped in an enclosure. Each clothed, each looking up, and each panicking._

A whimper came out of the darkness. Star Sapphire. Raven shook off the strange vision and focused on their situation

"Star? Are you alright?" There was a lightbulb around here somewhere… spotting it, Raven pulled the cord and illuminated her own face staring back at her.

Star Sapphire sucked in a terrible rattling breath, like she didn't quite know how to use human lungs. "You are me!" she cried, "and I am you!"

A streak of wild black lightning struck out their only light. In the darkness, Star Sapphire could hear an unfamiliar pounding, fast and loud in her ears, and taste something cold and metallic. She recognized the first thing as a heartbeat, but the second she could only guess at.

"How is this possible?" she asked.

"The Puppet King's remote," Raven realized. "When I knocked it away from him, it must have interrupted his spell. Our souls must have returned to the wrong body."

"Then we must find that remote and switch ourselves back."

Star Sapphire could just barely make out Raven's silhouette as she nodded. "Let's get moving."

* * *

"How can you stand this poofy skirt?"

"Quickly Raven! Our friends are in danger, we must follow and-"

"And what? Save them with my unusable powers while your unbridled emotions blow us to bits? Nice flying, by the way."

That wasn't fair of her, Raven knew, but her nerves were fried. It wasn't bad enough that they'd switched bodies, or that their teammates were being held hostage. Noooo, the empty, super-powered shells of their friends had to chase them across the city and into a dumpster, and the teammate she'd switched bodies with had to be the most emotional person she knew. Their situation might have been salvageable if they still had their own powers, but as it was…

"At least I am able to fly! You _have_ the knowledge of flight, it's programmed into my gem, but you are too busy being grumpy to heed it!"

Raven seethed. "You may have my body, but you know nothing about me."

Star Sapphire's mouth scrunched up. She knew terabytes about Raven! She knew that she was irritable like a quartz, but pearl-like in her long silences and ability to sit for hours doing apparently nothing. She knew that she liked books and was an organic being of the female variety. She knew all about her fighting style and her powers from training – or at least she had thought she did until she had to wield those powers. She hadn't known until a few minutes ago that Raven's abilities were also controlled by emotions, just like hers. She hadn't known until a few days ago that the hooded one wasn't even from Earth.

"Perhaps, you are right," Star said slowly. "And if you and I are to overcome this ordeal, we must know everything about each other… so, begin sharing."

Raven became very still. Star Sapphire watched from behind as her own shoulders slowly tensed up. For once, Raven didn't seem to have a ready reply, so Star Sapphire asked the question that bothered her most.

"When we first met, why did you get so upset when I called you-?"

"Please, don't finish that question."

 _Gem._ The word hovered, unspoken, between them. "Ask me anything, but not that." There was real pain in Raven's voice now, so Star stopped. For a long moment, the only sound in the alleyway was the distant noise of traffic. A breeze swept by, and Star Sapphire shivered as she experienced cold for the first time. Raven sighed.

"I was born in a place called Azarath," she began. "In the temple, at the heart of the city. There, I was raised by the monks and taught control."

"What about your parents?" _Damn_ , Raven thought. From the back of her head, Wisdom noted how amazing it was that Star Sapphire had been socialized into human social norms so quickly.

"My father was… a very bad person, and he was incarcerated for his crimes." _Understatement_. "My mother fled this dimension to get away from him and was offered sanctuary in Azarath. She has never been cruel, but… she doesn't want me. I think I remind her of her own mistakes. We avoid each other."

"I had Azar though," she said hurriedly, before Star could ask another question or make a pitying remark. "She was… my teacher, but also my friend.

"It was Azar who realized my powers were linked to emotions and who began my training in the way of the monks of Azarath. The other monks believed I should be kept in isolation, lest I destroy everything, but Azar thought differently, and when I had gained sufficient control she introduced me first to books and then to the city beyond the Temple."

Star Sapphire gave a soft smile. "She sounds like my _kanorfka_ ; I should like to meet her someday."

"That isn't…" Raven took a shaky breath, and Star Sapphire got a sharp, acrid feeling in her mouth before Raven composed herself once more, and the sensation vanished. "That's not possible. My father sent his minions to try and kidnap me when I was 13, and she died protecting me. It became clear to me then that my father would stop at nothing to get me since he believes I am the key to escaping his prison.

"I- I think there may be a way to fight him, a way to keep him from ever coming back, but Azarath is pacifistic, and they believe our destinies are inevitable. So I left."

Star Sapphire's eyes were burning, and not with star bolts. "That – that is not a happy story." Raven shrugged in acquiescence, but her expression remained neutral. Star frowned and looked down at the pavement. "I am afraid I cannot offer a more pleasant tale.

"I was harvested from Kindergarten Facet 12L9A, at which time I was assigned to an emerald lieutenant, to be her advisor." Star paused, wondering how to explain her defect.

Raven waited expectantly, but Star only bit her lip nervously.

"Just like that?" she finally asked. "You were going to become a military advisor right after you were… 'harvested'?"

Star Sapphire flinched. "Sapphires are _supposed_ to become advisors to important gems. Most sapphires have future vision with which to guide their leaders: I do not. My defect was quickly realized after I was deployed. I should have been recycled then, but sapphires are in scarce supply, so instead I was sent to the labs.

"The labs are where the research-class gems run their experiments. Mostly, we were assistants. But sometimes, we were their subjects." Star Sapphire lifted one pale finger to trace the gleaming orange gem on Raven's chest.

Raven's breath hitched, but Star Sapphire was caught up in the memories elicited by the pale, unnatural star stretching across her gem, and didn't notice.

"The labs are where I got my star bolts," she continued. "Where I learned to fight and build. It was a terrible, violent place, but I was lucky. A _kanorfka_ , a gem who looks after others, took notice of me and protected me, from the other inmates at least. You would call her a 'friend.'

"I still had visions though. They are not of the future. I do not believe they are even real, but they showed me life beyond the lab. They made me hope. I decided I had to escape Homeworld and its colonies. But just when I had finally managed to do so, I was captured by the Gordanians. After that… as the Earth saying goes, you know the rest of the story."

"Yeah…" Raven said lamely. She couldn't physically sense the emotions around her anymore, but they hung overhead anyway, making things heavy and awkward. Star Sapphire's story was too traumatic for her to not feel that she ought to do something to help, but she had no idea what. Saving the rest of her team, she decided, was easier and currently more pressing. "So," she said. "How do star bolts work?"

Forty minutes and a crash course in each other's powers later found them crouching behind a fountain outside an ornate but dilapidated theater. A green and four-legged earth-creature guarding the steps marked the location as the Puppet King's current headquarters.

"Safe to say we're not walking in through the front door," Raven said. "We'll have to try the roof."

"Agreed," Star Sapphire whispered. "Now, do just as I instructed. Close your eyes, and think of something joyful."

Raven sighed. Joy. What made Raven joyous?

 _Two people in the tundra, about to embark on a dangerous mission, holding hands and leaning closer…_

Raven ignored the stray vision – for she was sure, now, that that was what they were. Then a startling thought popped into her head. Immediately, Raven shot it back down, but then she remembered that she was supposed to be channeling her emotions, not suppressing them. Cautiously, she re-examined the idea. It was an absolutely absurd notion, and it would be unwise to consider such a thing as herself, but so long as she wasn't herself, so long as she didn't actually do anything…

She looked at Star, who was leaning in close, waxing poetic about the laughter of children and whiskers on kittens and whatnot.

She imagined them back in their own bodies, Star still leaning close but slowly trailing off. She imagined the soft press of lips, the warm aura that enveloped Star Sapphire expanding to encompass both of them, the light brush of Star's hair against her cheek.

Raven's feet lifted off the ground.

A moment later they were on top of the building.

"Oh, very, very good!" the real Star Sapphire enthused. "Tell me, what was your joyous thought?"

Gems could blush, right? Because Raven was pretty sure her face was flaming orange at that moment. "… you don't wanna know."

"Oh, but I do! What did you imagine?"

Raven cast about for something, anything to say but the whole truth- "You… not talking?"

She cringed – though, she supposed it wasn't a complete lie – but Star Sapphire only furrowed her eyebrows, like she knew Raven was lying and was confused why. "Oh, well…" she said. "I am glad I was able to help."

Raven sighed. She could worry about this later. "Your turn," she said, pointing at a pair of trapdoors set into the roof; they were chained shut with a thick padlock. "Focus your energy on the lock."

Star Sapphire stared at the primitive metal lock, focusing on the lock, on her desire for it to break, on Raven's powers slicing through the metal…

The padlock cleaved neatly in half and fell off.

"Nice work!"

Star Sapphire stretched Raven's gray face into the biggest and brightest smile it'd ever made at the compliment, and at once the roof doors began to rattle dangerously.

"Star!"

The rattling ceased instantly.

"Sorry," Star whispered sheepishly. She opened the doors quietly this time, and they crept into the darkened building.

* * *

They found their friends just in time. The Puppet King was onstage, surrounded by candles and chalked rune symbols. Three wooden boys dangled from his outstretched arm over a ritual fire.

The righteous fury immediately bubbled up in Star Sapphire, but it was unaccompanied by the familiar fire. _Focus,_ she thought _._ Star Sapphire summoned the magic, enveloping her three friends in dark energy, and floated them up off the stage and into the safety of the rafters. Then she hugged them.

"My friends!" She squealed. "You are unharmed!"

Puppet-Robin's voice was muffled and very confused. "Star… phire?"

"It's a long story," Raven said.

 _Three kids and a lemur being ambushed by warriors with golden fans._

"Look out!"

A sonic blast from zombie-Cyborg sent them flying in three separate directions.

Raven pushed herself off the floor of the orchestra pit. A shadow fell over her. She jumped out of the way a fraction of a second before a ginormous fist came down where she had been. Raven looked up into the glowing blue eyes of zombie-Beast Boy.

The green gorilla pulled back his fist to punch again. Raven dodged, leaping back into the audience section and springing from seatback to seatback. Zombie-Beast Boy pursued, forcing her farther and farther from her friends. Even with Star Sapphire's super-speed (the easiest of her powers for Raven to master, as it was fueled by unflinching determination), it was all Raven could do to stay out of zombie-Beast Boy's path. She growled and changed tactics. When her mind-controlled teammate brought both fists together and prepared to crush her, she dug in her heels, stuck out her hands, and hoped for the best…

Whoa.

Even zombie-Beast Boy looked surprised, if that was possible. The towering gorilla stopped and stared at the three-feet-tall ginger alien in a poofy dress that had just stood up to the force of his blow. Raven smirked.

She'd just halted a full-grown gorilla, and that was with very little faith. Imagine what she could do if she felt some of that 'boundless confidence' Star Sapphire had said was needed to access her full alien strength.

Raven shifted her grip and flung her teammate into the air. For a happy second, she thought she'd gained the upper hand, but of course, zombie-Beast Boy just transformed into a falcon and started dive bombing her. Raven coaxed herself into the air and started working on summoning the righteous fury needed to unleash star bolts.

On the other side of the theater, Star Sapphire was having greater success with Raven's powers. A lifetime under the militaristic regime of the Diamond Authority had taught her to focus, even in times of distress, and focus was the key to using Raven's powers. Unlike her own abilities, each of which was based on a specific emotion, it didn't matter what she felt so long as she could use that feeling to justify what she wanted to do. Right now, Star Sapphire was furious, and it was easy to channel that fury into throwing sandbags at not-Cyborg and looping ropes around not-Robin, who were both preventing her from getting to the Puppet King. The hard part about Raven's powers, Star Sapphire remembered when the catwalk bucked beneath her feet, was that if she let her emotions get too strong, or got distracted, the dark energy would lash out, and it was just as likely to crush her friends as it was to strike her enemies. Star Sapphire levitated another sandbag into the air and flung it at not-Robin.

He dodged it easily, and the projectile went sailing well into the audience, nearly hitting Raven. She was still engaged in aerial combat and still unable to sustain even a tiny star bolt long enough to fire it. Without warning, Zombie-Beast Boy shifted from a falcon to an elephant directly overhead. Raven yelped.

For a moment, Raven felt like she'd been buried alive. Then she kicked out with both feet, and the elephant flipped trunk over heels, slammed into a wall, and slumped to the ground.

Raven stood up and dusted herself off, glad to finally catch her breath.

 _A massive, moon-like spaceship blowing up an entire planet with a single deadly ray of emerald light._

Raven shivered. On instinct, she looked back at the stage. She saw a toddler-sized figure run up to the fire once more. It raised its arms, prepared to throw something into the flames.

" **NO!"**

The star bolt shot out of her hand and bowled the puppet king over, away from the fire. Raven dashed towards the stage. She was moving even faster than before now. There was fire inside her, the gem in her chest pulsing with solar energy, like a heartbeat on steroids.

The puppet king's controller was still in the air, thrown by the force of her star bolt. She raced towards it. Zombie-Cyborg tried to block her. She slid between his legs and kept running. The controller hit a stage light and ricocheted. She leaped for it. It fell in the fire. She fell to the earth.

Then suddenly, Raven was airborne again. For a moment, a harsh wind seemed to tear through her being; then her soul snapped back into her proper body. A profound sense of relief overcame her.

"I am me!" Star Sapphire exclaimed. "And you are you!"

"And we're us!" whooped Cyborg, vaulting onto the stage.

"Thanks to you two!" Robin grinned, coming out of the wings.

Behind him, Beast Boy chimed in, "You go, girls!"

Star Sapphire was floating well off the ground when she said "Raven! We have done it!" and squished Raven to her chest.

Raven blinked. She might've blushed too, just a little bit, and it crossed her mind that she _really_ needed to meditate.

"… You're hugging me," was all she managed to say.

" _Noooo!"_

As a team, they spun to face the Puppet King. He had always looked creepy, but now he looked pitiful, dragging himself along the ground with a smoldering hole in his chest.

"The magic… without it, I'm just a-"

He spoke no more.

Raven stared at the crater her star bolt had caused. It only took 20 minutes for the police to arrive to collect the remains and document the evidence, and then the Titans went home, but the image of the smoking empty body would haunt her for a long time afterward.

* * *

 _Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos._

 _Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos._

"Raven?"

The girl in question cracked open an eyelid.

"I am sorry to interrupt you," Star Sapphire said, "but-"

"I haven't seen Robin, Beast Boy, or Cyborg."

Star Sapphire fiddled with her skirt, but she understood Raven better now. If Raven was being short with her, it was only because she needed to put herself back in order after the night's events. "Truthfully, I am wishing to join you in meditation," she said.

"Really?" Raven asked. She didn't need an answer, though; she could sense Star's sincerity. "Alright."

Star Sapphire crossed her legs and sat next to her.

"Focus on the breath for now," Raven instructed. "Acknowledge your thoughts, but don't let them distract you; clear your mind."

The two hovered companionably, chanting Raven's mantra. Occasionally, Raven offered a bit of advice, and Star did her best to follow it. She proved to be a far more patient student than Raven would have thought a day ago.

Eventually, Raven asked. "Star Sapphire?"

"Yes?"

"After this, would you like to go to the mall?"

Star Sapphire smiled. "Of course."

* * *

 **A/N: What's this? An update?**

 **I'm actually pretty proud of this chapter. I've learned a lot about writing since I started "Switched," so while I thought it was only a couple action scenes away from completion when I posted the chapter "Funland," it ended up undergoing a lot of editing and flat-out rewriting.**

That said, one of the things I'm still struggling with is balancing canon events and my own storytelling. I want this story to be interwoven with the canon plotlines of both SU and TT, but I don't want to just transcribe the episodes; that would be boring for both of us. I would love your feedback on how easy it was or wasn't to follow this chapter, and whether I can skim over more of the unchanged bits in the future.

 **Jahoan, Mazamba, and Azarath Cat: Yes, she sees alternate universes instead of the future! Glad you figured it out. Specifically, the visions referenced last chapter were the original Teen Titans episode "Sisters," Avatar, and Scooby Doo. Anyone think they can identify this chapter's visions?**

 **THE CRYSTAL GEMS ARE COMING NEXT CHAPTER GUYS, GET HYPED.**


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